Early baseball in California/Game 2
From SABR Encyclopedia
| Spread of baseball: Home -> California -> Early baseball in California/Game 2 |
| Location | California |
|---|---|
| Year | 1851 |
| Month | 3 |
| City | San Francisco |
| State | CA |
| Country | US |
| Was NY rules baseball | Doubtful |
| Played by | Locals |
| Found by | Larry McCray |
From Protoball Entry #1851.2 -- San Francisco CA Weighs Plusses and Minuses of Base Ball
“San Francisco newspapers reported the appearance of base-ball in early 1851 in the town square -- The Plaza -- or today’s Portsmouth Square. The final report of San Francisco’s inaugural base ball season included the following: ‘There the boys play at ball, some of them using expressions towards their companions, expressions neither flattering, innocent nor commendable. Men, too, children of a larger growth, do the same things.’” “The Corral,” Alta California, March 25, 1851.
A few weeks earlier, coverage had been more favorable: “The plaza has at last been turned to some account by our citizens. Yesterday quite a crowd collected upon it, to take part in and witness a game of ball, many taking a hand. We were much better pleased at it, than to witness the crowds in the gambling saloons which surround the square.” “Sports on the Plaza,” Daily California Courier, February 4, 1851. A third article said of the base ball activity: “[T]his is certainly an innocent recreation, but occasionally the ball strikes a horse passing.” “The Plaza,” San Francisco Herald, March 1, 1851.
Protoball record 1851.2 from Protoball project
Submitted by Angus Macfarlane, January 2007.
